You've found the Gusha-hime Knight, so put your hair up in a bun!

For a brief moment, their eyes met, and the burning passion in each other's eyes was undisguised.

There was nothing more to say.

A kiss, carrying the tenderness of youth, fell, but with the domineering and "tyrannical" nature of adulthood, plucked that delicate, luscious lip.

Natalia's first kiss, preserved for thousands of years, was finally taken by the boy she had always secretly loved but could never have. Her eyes closed slightly, and she couldn't suppress the smile on her lips.

zizi...

In this secluded, deserted little garden, only the bright moon atop the night sky silently witnesses all of this.

Inside the hall, the birthday party had not yet fully begun; it was still a free period.

The event will begin with a ball, followed by a presentation on the greatness of the empire and the various achievements of the eldest princess, and finally, the cake cutting and performances.

Sigh, my father-in-law is being so fussy again.

Ruby pretended to be bored and wandered around aimlessly while carrying out the task that Shilo had given her.

That night, Shiloh gave Ruby a "prop" that Cecilia and he had made together.

Since the last divine descent, Cecilia and Shiloh have been bestowed with the same blessing—[Divine Messenger].

The effect of Blessing - [Divine Messenger] is a passive effect that increases constitution.

It can greatly enhance the divine qualities of the recipient, making their divine qualities reach a unique and unparalleled level of purity in the human world, just like a divine angel descended to earth.

Shiloh knew something unexpected would happen tonight, but merely blocking this wave wouldn't make much progress. What Shiloh wanted was to wipe out the forces behind it all.

Therefore, Shiloh joined forces with Cecilia to create a device that, once it comes into contact with abyssal energy, spreads like a cursor to any individual that comes into contact with the abyssal energy, and then releases a fiercely dazzling holy light.

It's like adding a conspicuous super beacon to these unidentified creatures hiding in the shadows, making them visible to everyone so that they can be targeted and attacked.

The core of this item lies in Cecilia's holy tracking and marking prayers, and what Shilo did was to use his half-finished advanced Topus field, which he had been researching for a long time, to compress these prayers into a very small space with a reversal effect.

This force field can reflect the prayers within, preventing their energy from being consumed.

At the same time, it can also reflect external energy, making it undetectable by any means.

After doing everything, Silas thought it over and finally handed the delivery task over to Ruby.

It wasn't just that Shiloh wanted her to accumulate more merits in this battle, but also because Ruby's methods made her the most suitable candidate for deployment.

Ruby, who knew how to use the props, strolled around the venue with a natural expression, as if she were just watching.

But no one noticed that whenever Ruby passed by, the shadows of the surrounding guests seemed to be touched by something.

Indeed, Ruby, who is destined for greatness, possesses top-tier shadow talent. Even though she is only at the [Void Realm] level, among everyone present, only Rodel, who has not yet shown himself, could probably figure out how to use shadows to embed items inside them.

However, Rodel also knew that Ruby was an accomplice that Shiloh had brought in, so he naturally wouldn't say anything. At most, he would sigh and say that he had never realized that this kid was so fond of beautiful women.

Ruby breathed a sigh of relief after carefully completing all the arrangements. Then she secretly wondered who might be the traitor tonight.

Recalling the people she had observed while placing the props, Ruby recalled a few individuals whose expressions and postures seemed somewhat unusual, and decided to share and discuss them with Shiloh.

But just as Ruby was about to take out her terminal, she suddenly remembered that she had to maintain the persona of not knowing Siloso tonight, otherwise she would definitely be viewed with suspicion.

Thinking this, Ruby felt angry again.

After all, Xi Luo had only been here a short time, and several stunningly beautiful women had already approached him.

The eldest princess, the legitimate daughter of the Wayne family, and that mysterious and elegant adult...

Really!

A womanizer!

You stinking, lecherous pig!

Ruby grumbled inwardly, her expression naturally turning sour.

However, to outsiders, it looked as if she was not comfortable with the atmosphere here, which was why she had a cold face.

In the past, Aaron would have already gone up to Ruby and started talking to her.

But since the day before the forest clearing mission, when she publicly announced her relationship and slammed his face on the ground, it was practically the same as a complete break for Aaron.

Aaron touched his lower back, still feeling some pain in his kidney area...

Now that Ruby has been "defiled" by that man, Aaron naturally won't be presumptuous as he used to be, and instead sets his sights on Moen.

Aaron felt that he had just not been serious enough before, and that as long as he was serious, he would definitely be able to win the other person's heart with his charm.

Fortunately, tonight's dance will be a great opportunity, and I'm sure the other party won't refuse.

Chapter 190 Kneel before Lord Xi Luo! (5k words, bonus chapter)

With this thought in mind, Aaron, who had just finished chatting with the powerful and wealthy, turned his gaze to Moen, who was enjoying his meal at different tables, and then walked over to him.

"Miss Moen, are you interested in the food here?"

Aaron gently touched his chest, gave a polite smile, and asked.

Moen nodded, glanced at Aaron with a strange look, hesitated for a moment, then pointed to the table beside him and said, "Are you hungry? I recommend you try this..."

Watching Moen enthusiastically introduce the various delicacies, Aaron twitched his lips and couldn't help but interrupt her, saying, "You misunderstand. What I mean is, if you like the food here, why don't we dine here together next time?"

"Uh……"

Moen scratched his head, raised his eyebrows, and asked bluntly, "Why does it sound like you're trying to pick me up..."

Aaron was taken aback by Moen's directness. His little scheme was exposed, and he stiffened, his face flushing with embarrassment. However, he forced himself to keep his expression unchanged and said, "Look, if you think about it, we've been adventuring together for over a year. You've helped the team a lot during this time, so naturally I want to thank you."

Actually, Aaron's team wasn't just Ruby and Moen; there were others as well, making up several dozen people. It's just that the two of them were the core members.

Hearing Aaron's words, Moen neither refused nor agreed, but just laughed it off, saying, "We'll talk about it next time, we'll talk about it next time... There's so much delicious food tonight, I need to eat more. If you don't have anything to do, you can also try these foods, they're really delicious."

After saying that, Moen left without waiting for Aaron to stop him.

Watching Moen's departing figure, Aaron's expression was one of suppressed discomfort.

Objectively speaking, there was a certain sarcastic tone to Moen's words just now.

But seeing Moen's innocent and naive face, one could sense that she didn't mean it that way; she simply didn't realize her words were hurtful.

Stuck in this limbo, with no indication of whether he had accepted the invitation, Aaron felt a tightness in his throat.

With no other option, Aaron could only clench his fists and slink away, intending to continue chatting with the powerful and influential people in the capital to expand his network.

From the perspective of Aaron's adventurer team, Aaron, as the leader, can indeed be described as "hardworking and meritorious".

Besides being a key figure in combat, he was also the only one among the core members who did things like cultivating relationships with powerful figures and expanding his network.

Unlike the other members of the team, Ruby and Moen are more like "temporary collaborators" in this team.

Ordinary team members need to rely on Aaron's team for their livelihood, but Ruby doesn't. She only needs revenge, which is why she stays in Aaron's team.

Ruby could leave at any time if Aaron stops expanding his network and gathering intelligence.

However, Ruby is one of the top combatants, and if she leaves, it would be a huge loss for Aaron.

Moen, on the other hand, has a very mysterious background, but is very powerful, and like himself, he is at the [Star Rank].

Although Moen did not reveal her background, it is not difficult to tell from her demeanor and temperament that she should be of noble birth, or even more than just ordinary noble birth.

The reason they joined my team was probably just because they were noble children who came out to gain experience. They might leave the team and return to their families once they felt they had gained enough experience.

Aaron found it hard to accept this outcome, so he could only work even harder, constantly increasing the "value" of his team in the hope of retaining the other side.

Just as Aaron was about to continue building relationships with the powerful figures he had been talking to, he noticed that the other person's gaze instinctively turned in one direction.

Not only this powerful figure, but everyone around him also subconsciously looked in the same direction.

The ball hasn't officially started yet, so it's easy to guess who could attract so much attention.

Aaron clenched his fists in frustration. He couldn't understand why that person could attract everyone's attention the moment he appeared.

Not only his family background, but also his talent, temperament, appearance, and so on, are all rare in the world.

Aaron slowly turned around and looked at Shilo, whose arm was being held intimately by a mature and beautiful woman. The tightness in his chest intensified.

Aaron, who aspired to climb the social ladder, naturally recognized the beautiful woman.

Natalia, the queen of underground intelligence in the capital.

For some reason, from the very beginning when he went with the Third Prince to cause trouble for Shilo, Aaron had an inexplicable sense of hatred towards Shilo.

And... a hint of fear he was unwilling to admit.

It was like a fake raccoon dog meeting a real prince; the despicable feeling of being a "fake" was like a needle and thread woven into the heart, bringing pain and resentment at the same time.

On the other side, after removing the hickeys from Natalia, Shiloh returned to the hall and felt an unfriendly gaze following him.

Although Shiloh knew that there were many people who wanted to harm him, this was the first time he had ever seen someone so blatant about it.

Turning his head, he saw that Xiluo was amused.

Hey there, isn't this our lofty and unapproachable "destined" protagonist?

After the night of their union, Shiloh learned the next day what had happened to Aaron after a portion of his destiny had been stolen from him.

Quite by chance, Aaron was fighting a demonized boar king when his destiny was stolen, and as a result, one of his kidneys was ruptured by his attack.

Moreover, the demonized boar king possessed abyssal energy, which nearly corroded Aaron's body. Even if his kidney could be repaired, it would certainly be unusable.

When Aaron noticed that Shiloh was looking at him, he suddenly realized that his gaze had been too direct. He quickly tried to lower his head to hide himself, but it was obviously too late.

"Hey, isn't this the 'hero' who came to the train station with the Third Prince to block the entrance the other day? Why is he keeping his head down? Is he too ashamed to face people?"

A mocking voice came from Shiloh, and Aaron cursed under his breath, but he could only slowly raise his head to face the other person directly.

After hesitating for a while, Aaron suppressed his unwilling expression and bowed respectfully to Shiloh, saying, "I was just following orders. Please forgive me if I have done anything wrong."

"What if I don't forgive you?"

Shiloh's words caused the atmosphere to freeze abruptly. A look of humiliation appeared on Aaron's face, and the veins on the back of his hand bulged.

Despite his desire to curry favor with the powerful, most of them treated him with the same respect due to his own abilities.

Aaron had seen this aggressive attitude before, but this was the first time he dared not resist.

The Wells family, as a powerful and influential family that existed since the founding of the nation, wielded immense influence among the nobility... so much so that anyone who disliked Aaron, even those who were at odds with the Wells family, would consider the reputation of the nobility and refuse to openly associate with them.

Therefore, no matter how much Aaron disliked Shiloh, he could only adopt an increasingly respectful attitude.

"How can I gain your understanding?"

Aaron adopted a humble posture, trying hard to suppress his resentment and anger.

Xiluo smiled slightly, looked at the humble Aaron, and said, "A horde of demonized beasts has appeared in the forests near the capital. Have you dealt with it?"

Aaron froze upon hearing this. Ever since he was injured by the boar king due to his carelessness, the other adventurers, lacking top-tier combat power, dared not be too aggressive. They simply controlled the area on the outskirts of the forest and awaited his leadership.

Of course, some adventurer teams wanted to expand their gains and venture deeper to hunt monsters, but after several attempts, they were forced out by the dense abyssal energy and could only wait for Aaron to return so they could think of a solution together.

In response to Shiloh's question, Aaron shook his head and said, "It's not resolved yet, but most of the area is under control, and we'll be able to—"

"'you'--?"

Shiloh deliberately drew out his words, interrupting Aaron.

A mocking look appeared on Xiluo's face as he sneered, "I heard you're the leader of the expeditionary force, but from what I know so far, it seems you've done almost nothing of substance."

"Ever since I was knocked unconscious by a mere demonized wild boar king, the work of clearing out and controlling it has been done by others. Am I right?"

With a cold gaze, Shiloh recounted Aaron's incompetence, word by word, and the nobles who had just been talking to him now showed expressions of doubt.

The powerful and influential people didn't speak, but the exchange of glances between them spoke volumes.

They had begun to have doubts, questioning whether Aaron truly possessed the legendary strength of a "hero."

After all, no one had ever heard of a hero being knocked unconscious by the Boar King.

This is utterly absurd.

Seeing his shameful secret exposed by Shiloh, Aaron's face turned blood red, and his teeth clenched tightly.

"That was an accident, at the time I—"

"Enough! I don't have time to listen to your explanations."

With a wave of his hand, Shiloh interrupted Aaron again, coldly saying, "It's just clearing out the mutated beast tide in the forest, and it's still not finished. What a waste! As the leader, what face do you have to be here attending this banquet!"

The public humiliation made Aaron suddenly raise his head, glaring at Shilo with resentment, his eyes filled with an invisible and intangible pressure!

However, faced with Aaron's oppressive aura, Shiloh merely narrowed his eyes, then flashed a scarlet light, the intimidating light pushing back, which actually made Aaron's pupils shrink in shock!

Aaron never imagined that Shilo, whose rank was lower than his when they arrived in the capital, would reach the same rank as him in such a short time.